It is often desirable to clean the blades of ceiling fans so that unsightly dust does not accumulate on the same. However, it has heretofore been a problem to efficiently and effectively clean such ceiling fan blades. This is so because dust has a tendency to quickly accumulate on the large surface area of fan blades and because prior art cleaning aids have been generally ineffective at removing such dust therefrom.
Thus, in the past, if a person desired to adequately remove dust which has settled upon ceiling fan blades, he or she would have to clean each individual fan blade by hand, usually while standing on a ladder, by using a damp dust cloth or the like. The ladder would have to be moved after cleaning a relatively small area to assure that too much pressure was not exerted on the fan blades, or to assure that dust was not merely being pushed off of an associated fan blade and onto other objects. Cleaning ceiling fan blades in the past was therefore a tedious task.
Accordingly, there is a great need for a cleaning aid for cleaning elongate slats such as ceiling fan blades, which will permit a person to efficiently and effectively remove dust which has accumulated on a ceiling fan blade without agitating such dust so as to create airborne dust particles which would be inhaled by individuals in the immediate area, or would otherwise settle on undesirable places. Additionally, an effective cleaning aid should also have a large degree of flexibility and pivotability so that the delicate balance of a ceiling fan is not disturbed during the cleaning process.
The prior art has not provided any solution to the problem of cleaning ceiling fan blades without disturbing the balance of the ceiling fan. Additionally, the prior art has not provided a vacuum cleaner attachment for effectively and efficiently cleaning ceiling fan blades. One prior art device which utilizes a vacuum cleaner in connection with a ceiling fan blade cleaner, is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,823,431 to Carpenter. However, the Carpenter device has several major drawbacks. In particular, the Carpenter device has an entirely rigid construction and thus, it requires a great deal of movement by the user relative to a fan blade, which is being cleaned, to assure that the excessive pressure will not be exerted on the fan blade thus disturbing the balance of the entire ceiling fan. Additionally, the air flow generated by the vacuum cleaner associated with the Carpenter device is inefficiently applied to a ceiling fan blade to be cleaned. This is so because the Carpenter device does not include an air flow facilitation means, such as a flap, which concentrates the air flow on an associated fan blade. Thus, the fan blade cleaning device of Carpenter will not efficiently remove dust and other particulate matter from ceiling fan blades.
Accordingly, there has been a considerable need for an improved cleaning aid, such as the present vacuum cleaner attachment for cleaning elongate slats which will facilitate the quick and effective removal of particulate matter from the surface of ceiling fan blades without the risk of disturbing the balance of an associated ceiling fan.
It is thus evident from all the drawbacks of prior art cleaning aids, including the Carpenter device, that there is a considerable need for a new and improved vacuum cleaner attachment for cleaning elongate slats such as ceiling fan blades. The present invention solves all of the aforementioned problems and will greatly benefit all individuals who will undertake the task of cleaning ceiling fan blades.